Fruitful Living
What is the most unbelievable yet true excuse you ever had for being late?
FAVOR AGYPONG- University Graduate
I once had a very strict lecturer whose 8 a.m. class rule was simple: nobody enters after him. He was always in class by 7:45, so we made sure to be early.
One morning, nature called just as I was about to leave. I had a running stomach and, after a serious battle in the washroom, I eventually made it to class but late.
As usual, he asked why I was late. Too shy to say it aloud, I moved closer and whispered, “Sir, I had a running stomach.”
This man shouted, “Na running stomach na wontumi nka?”
The whole class exploded with laughter. At that point, my running stomach had become a public announcement
DORIS ADWOA DANSOAH -Enterpreneur
I was already on my way to an important appointment when a stubborn goat decided to cross the road and simply stood in the middle, staring at me. I honked, I waited, I even tried to shoo it away, but it refused to move. I had no choice but to wait patiently until the goat finally decided on its own to continue its journey, making me late and everyone thought I was joking afterwards.
PRECIOUS NANA AMA -Student/ Enterpreneur
I lived and worked in the same town. My house is just a 30-minute drive from my workplace. That morning, it started raining heavily around my area, so I decided to wait a bit. After the rain stopped, I set off for work, only to get there and realise it had not rained at the workplace. I explained to my boss, but he didn’t believe me, he kept saying, “How can it rain in one part of the same town and not the other?” Even my colleagues who don’t live in my direction didn’t believe me either.
MARTHA ODURO- Nurse
I am a nurse, I was on morning shift. I had already bathed, ironed my uniform and was about to leave the house when our youngest sister vomited all over my white uniform.
I had to clean her, clean myself, wash the uniform quickly, dry it small with iron, and find another one. By the time I got to the hospital I was almost an hour late.
My ward in-charge looked at me and said “Oduro, you nurses and your stories.” I was just standing there smelling of Dettol and vomit. It sounded like a lie, but it was true.
PRISCILLA OKAI- Student
My unbelievable excuse happened during end-of-semester exams. I was fully dressed and about to leave the hostel when my roommate’s pad leaked on my bed and her white bedsheet, and she started crying because she had no other.
I couldn’t leave her like that. I had to help her wash it, give her one of mine, and clean the mattress. I got to the exam hall 25 minutes late, everyone thought I overslept to cheat. But my roommate followed me to the invigilator to explain.
COLLINS AMUZU- Student
I was on time, actually I was already on campus. I went to print my assignment at the printing shop near the school gate. The light went off right when it was my turn. The shop owner said I should wait 5 minutes, that light will come. I waited, and waited for almost 40 minutes because ECG did their own thing. I got to class late with no printed work, and the lecturer said “you students and your light off stories.” But I was there, we were about four students stuck at the shop.
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We believe in his miraculous birth.
We believe in his prophethood.
We believe in his miracles by Allah’s permission.
We believe in Maryam عليها السالم.
Therefore, if there is a disagreement between a Muslim and a Christian about Jesus عليه السالم, let that disagreement be handled with knowledge, respect and dialogue.
If a Muslim preacher says something offensive about Jesus عليه السالم, Christians have every right to condemn the statement and seek lawful redress.
But please do not respond by insulting Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
One religious insult cannot justify another religious insult.
Let us stop the cycle.
OUR FINAL MESSAGE: DO NOT LET SATAN WIN
Brothers and sisters,
Perhaps the greatest victory for Satan is not that someone insults Muhammad (pbuh).
Perhaps the greater victory is that the insult causes Muslims to abandon the character of the
Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.
Someone insults the Prophet.
We become violent.
Someone provokes us.
We become unjust.
Someone makes a foolish statement.
We destroy a friendship that took thirty years to build.
Then Satan wins twice.
No!
We will not allow that.
We will defend Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) by following good mannerism of Muhammad (pbuh).
We will honour Muhammad (pbuh) by practising his Sunnah.
We will answer ignorance with knowledge.
Hatred with justice.
Provocation with restraint.
Falsehood with truth.
And hostility with dignified engagement.
Let us remember: “Indeed, Allah commands justice, excellence and generosity.” (Qur’an
16:90)
May Allah bless us all. Ameen
AUTHOR
IMAM ALHAJI SAEED ABDULAI
Kpone Katamanso Municipal Chief Imam
Certified Counsellor
Governance Expert
REFERENCES
1. The Qur’an: 2:201; 3:134; 4:135; 5:8; 6:108; 15:97; 16:90; 16:125; 33:21; 33:70; 49:6;
60:8; 68:4.
2. Al-Bukhari, Muhammad ibn Isma’il. Sahih al-Bukhari: Hadith 1311–1313, 2068,
3166, 4380–4381, 6018, 6114.
3. Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj. Sahih Muslim: Hadith 47, 1795, 2609.
4. Ibn Hisham. Al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah — material concerning the Hijrah, Madinah and the Sahifah of Madinah.
5. Ibn Kathir. Tafsir al-Qur’an al-‘Azim — commentary on Qur’an 5:8, 6:108, 16:125 and 60:8.
6. Ibn Kathir. Al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah — accounts relating to the Prophet’s ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص life and relations with other communities.
The author is the Chief Imam of katamanso Munipicipal and Certified Counsellor and Governance Expert.
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When Paul tells us that our “attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus,” he had summarized in the previous two verses what such an attitude was: selflessness, humility, and service. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others” – Philippians 2:3-4.
In other words, the attitude a Christian should reflect is one that focuses on the needs and interests of others. Without question, that does not come naturally to us. When Christ came into the world, He established a whole new attitude to relationships with others. One day when His disciples were arguing among themselves regarding who was to be greatest in His kingdom, Jesus said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you.
Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” – Matthew 20:25-28. Jesus is teaching us that, when we become preoccupied with our own things, it can cause conflicts and other problems with people we know. Instead, God wants us to have an attitude of serious, caring involvement in the concerns of others.
Paul speaks more about this Christ-like attitude in his letter to the church in Ephesus: “ that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.– Ephesians 4:22-24. Many religions of today, including the New Age philosophies, promote the old lie that we are divine or that we can become gods. But the truth of the matter is that we will never become God, or even a god. Satan’s oldest lie was promising Adam and Eve that, if they followed his advice, “- and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:5, NKJV.
Each time we try to control our circumstances, our future, and the people around us, we’re only demonstrating that we want to be a god. But we must understand that, as creatures, we will never be the Creator. God doesn’t want us to try to become gods. Instead, He wants us to become like Him, taking on His values, His attitudes, and His character. We are meant to “be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” – Ephesians 4:23-24.
Finally, we must always keep in mind that God’s ultimate goal for His children is not our comfort, but the transformation of our minds into the attitude of godliness. He wants us to grow spiritually, to become like Christ. This doesn’t mean losing our personalities or becoming mindless clones. Christlikeness is all about transforming our minds. Again, Paul tells us, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” – Romans 12:2.
It is God’s will that we develop the kind of mindset described in the Beatitudes of Jesus – Matthew 5:1-12, that we exhibit the fruit of the Spirit – Galatians 5:22-23, that we emulate the principles in Paul’s great chapter on love – 1 Corinthians 13, and that we strive to pattern our lives after Peter’s characteristics of an effective and productive life – 2 Peter 1:5-8.
Establishing our actions in righteousness
Every person is commanded to live up to divine standards.
a. IN THE WORDS OF JESUS
“ For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Be ye, therefore, perfect, even as your Father, who is in heaven, is perfect” – Mt. 5:20, 48.
Every person in the world is required to live up to that standard. You say, “You’ve got to be kidding!” No, I’m not. You are obligated to live up to that standard with a pure inside as well as a right outside. But you say, “I can’t!” You are absolutely right. That’s why we are given the solution…
b. In the words of Paul
As it is written:“There is none righteous, no, not one; But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;– Rom. 3:10, 21-22a.
Though you can’t obtain on your own the righteous standard Christ set, you can receive His righteousness if you are one of those who believe. Isn’t that great? God set the holy standard. And when you acknowledge that you can’t live up to it, He says, “My Son is not only the Lawgiver, but He is the Redeemer as well, who makes it possible for you to live on that level.” Beloved, it’s a fantastic thing! The standard is so high we can’t obtain it. But Christ met that standard and imputes to us His righteousness. Oh, what a blessed thing!
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